To the question What rank do two stars on shoulder straps mean asked by the author Elena Gridnevskaya the best answer is If the shoulder straps are clean, without stripes, and the stars are small and located along the shoulder strap, this is an ensign. If there is a stripe along the shoulder strap, it is called a gap, and stars across the shoulder strap are called a lieutenant. If there are two gaps and there are big stars across it, lieutenant colonel. Golden shoulder straps with big stars - Lieutenant General.

Answer from Irinka...[guru]
It depends on what uniform you wear.

Answer from Ded[guru]
ensign, lieutenant, lieutenant colonel, lieutenant general

Answer from Evgeniy Vakhnenko 190(T)[newbie]
It all depends on their location! Can be an ensign, lieutenant or lieutenant colonel

Answer from Alexander[guru]
depending on the stars, small lieutenant, large lieutenant colonel on the sides of the shoulder straps, the lieutenant has one stripe between the stars, the lieutenant colonel has two stars located on them, the ensign has hardly two, there are no stripes on the shoulder straps

Answer from Leani[guru]
Marshal.

Answer from Maxim Spesivtsev[guru]
twice father

Answer from Lukerya Lukovaya[guru]
If the shoulder straps have one stripe and the stars are not big - lieutenant
If 2 stripes and large stars - lieutenant colonel
And if not stripes, but a ZIGZAG STRIPE, embroidered in gold, and huge stars, then Lieutenant General

Answer from Ilya Chyuchilov[newbie]
Lieutenant

Answer from Evgeny Stolyarov[newbie]
Depending on which ones, there are Ensign, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Colonel, General Lieutenant.
Ensign without stripes.
Lieutenant one stripe red
Lieutenant Colonel two red stripes
General Lieutenant without stripes

Answer from Nolvina Mukhametdinova[newbie]
Ensign

Answer from Oriy Polukhin[guru]
The answers are missing the rank of Vice Admiral

Answer from Yovetlana Nikolaeva[newbie]
If the small stars are located vertically, then the ensign, if the stars are medium (13 mm), are located horizontally, and with one clearance (strip), then the lieutenant, if the stars are large (20 mm) and are located horizontally, and with two clearances, then the lieutenant colonel , if the stars are vertically large (22 mm), then Lieutenant General.

Answer from Maxim Seleznev[newbie]
Zatya also has 2 stars on his shoulder straps

Military ranks in Armed Forces Russian Federation on Wikipedia
Military ranks in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

Military ranks and insignia of the Red Army 1940-1943 on Wikipedia
Look at the Wikipedia article about Military ranks and insignia of the Red Army 1940-1943

Army General of Russia on Wikipedia
Look at the Wikipedia article about Army General Russia

Two TV show stars on Wikipedia
Look at the Wikipedia article about Two TV stars

Star insignia on Wikipedia
Look at the Wikipedia article about Star insignia

Major on Wikipedia
Look at the Wikipedia article about Major

Lieutenant Colonel on Wikipedia
Look at the Wikipedia article about Lieutenant Colonel

The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia are paramilitary, they have appropriate uniforms and insignia. Insignia depending on special ranks, located on shoulder straps, for employees of the Federal Border Guard Service were established by order of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation dated July 3, 2008 N 364 “On approval of the Rules for wearing uniforms by employees of the State Fire Service of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergency Situations and Liquidation consequences of natural disasters, having special ranks of internal service", and are identical to the corresponding signs for police officers.

The basis for placing insignia made in the form of plates and stars is shoulder straps.

Middle and older persons commanding staff shoulder straps are worn:

• on tunics (jackets) with full dress uniform - sewn shoulder straps with a field golden color, with gaps and orange edgings;
• on tunics (jackets) with casual uniforms, demi-season jackets, coats and winter jackets - sewn shoulder straps with a gray-blue field, with gaps and orange piping;
• on woolen jackets and summer jackets - removable shoulder straps with a gray-blue field, with gaps and orange piping;
• on white and gray-blue shirts (blouses) there are removable shoulder straps with a field, respectively, white and gray-blue, with gaps and orange piping;

Private and junior commanding officers wear shoulder straps:

• on tunics (jackets), demi-season jackets (for warrant officers of internal service), coats and winter jackets - sewn shoulder straps with a gray-blue field, with orange piping;
• on woolen jackets, summer jackets and shirts (blouses) - removable shoulder straps with a gray-blue field, with orange piping;
• on white shirts (blouses) (for warrant officers of the internal service) - removable shoulder straps with a white field;
• on demi-season raincoats - shoulder straps made of the fabric of the top of the product, sewn into the sleeve seam, with a triangular upper edge fastened with a button.

The emblems on the shoulder straps are metallic golden in color - the small emblem of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. The emblems are placed on the longitudinal center line of the shoulder strap, at a distance of 5 mm from the button.

Placing insignia on shoulder straps

Placement of stars on the shoulder straps of middle, senior, senior command and warrant officers of the internal service

A serviceman's shoulder straps are his unique calling card, that is, one glance at the shoulder insignia is enough to understand what rank the soldier has. The stars on the shoulder straps provide enough information about which officer corps the serviceman belongs to.

However modern look I didn’t get the epaulets and stars right away. In pre-revolutionary times, they were interspersed with additional stripes called stripes. Only later did the stars on shoulder straps begin to demonstrate the serviceman as a person belonging to a certain rank in the military hierarchy.

How did the stars appear on the shoulder straps and what is their meaning?

Even during the times of Tsarist Russia, military personnel differed significantly in appearance from ordinary citizens, since their clothing had its own special insignia. However, during that period of time, shoulder straps as such, much less stars, did not exist. They were not the distinctive insignia of a soldier, as they are now.

As a rule, the appearance of a military man had few elements by which his rank and position in the hierarchy of the army could be judged. More attention was paid not to individual details, but to all military clothing as a whole. Therefore, the status of a serviceman was evidenced by the external cut of clothing, as well as the type of military weapon that the military man always had at hand. Basically, this rule applied to senior and junior officers. Generals, for example, had their own insignia, which distinguished them from military personnel of lower rank.

Reformation in this area occurred during the reign of Peter the Great, who, in his travels abroad, was inspired to change the appearance of the army during Tsarist Russia. The basic attribute initially became breastplates, which looked like a scarf. On it were the heraldic symbols of the army in tsarist times. When the hour of the nineteenth century struck, a new transformation took place appearance clothing of a serviceman, which began to resemble a uniform in appearance, and it was more of a tailcoat look.

In addition, original headdresses began to appear on the heads of officers, which also became part of the serviceman’s appearance, as a sign of distinction.

After such transformations, it was the turn of the epaulettes, which were the prototype of modern shoulder insignia. There is a significant difference between shoulder straps and epaulettes - the latter never had stars. Therefore, officers were distinguished in in this case solely based on the color scheme of the epaulettes.

If these are officers of the junior and senior ranks, then the shoulder insignia of tsarist times coincided in shade with the color of the uniform they wore. Generals, as a more privileged class in the military hierarchy, wore gold-colored epaulettes. Another difference between royal epaulettes and modern shoulder straps was that they were a decoration for a military man; they were very catchy and elegant.

Find out: Current generals of the Russian army, a small list

Often wealthy military personnel had them made to order from pure gold. Modern shoulder straps are more modest, since after the Revolution took place, preference was given to practicality rather than beauty.

In the twenties of the last century, the military uniform replaced epaulettes with shoulder straps of the modern type, which the Russian army still uses. Since then, a hierarchy has also appeared in the Russian army, which has survived to this day.

For example, one star on the shoulder straps meant that the serviceman had the rank of warrant officer, but if the soldier had two stars, then he was a major, if there were three, then the serviceman moved to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and if there were four, then he was a staff captain.

Five stars mean that the serviceman has the highest military rank. If this concerns ground forces, then this is a field marshal, and if this concerns naval forces, then it is an admiral of the fleet. However, five stars are not sewn on his shoulder straps; they are replaced by one large one and the coat of arms of the Russian Federation (in a modern interpretation).

However, in those days, epaulettes had not yet completely disappeared from military uniform, since they were worn by colonels. And just like in the distant tsarist times, they did not have such insignia as stars. They came into common use on military uniforms only after another reformation took place in Soviet times, which led to the fact that soldiers began to wear overcoats.

In addition to stars, the Soviet army began to use brass buttons. In addition, emblems were used that demonstrated the insignia of a particular branch of the military. Since then, the military uniform has acquired the form that is used to this day.

Sequence of ranks and corresponding stars

Stars are not currently used among the rank and file of the army. The youngest rank of a soldier who is just joining military service- a private, he wears shoulder straps that do not have clear insignia. If this is a soldier who belongs to the security services, then an additional word is assigned to the rank. For example, if this is a prosecutor, then an ordinary justice is assigned.

• If this is a junior sergeant, then his shoulder straps have two transverse stripes.
• If it's just a sergeant, then it has three stripes.
• A few years later, the sergeant receives the rank of senior, and then a single stripe appears on his shoulder insignia, which is twice as wide.

Find out: What rank in the Russian Army corresponds to the rank of corporal?

Stars on shoulder straps and ranks follow a clear pattern, since in each composition they differ from each other only in quantity and size. Two stars are worn by warrant officers, and senior warrant officers wear three on each shoulder strap.

After a military man has passed the senior warrant officer, he becomes an officer.

• The junior lieutenant has one star on his shoulder straps. On the shoulder insignia there is a small star, which signifies the initial step among junior officers. On their shoulder straps there is one gap, which is a red stripe on which all the stars are located.
• Often people who are not yet very well versed in such a hierarchy ask the question, two stars on shoulder straps - what is the rank? In the junior ranks, this is a lieutenant; his stars are located at equal distances from each other on both sides of the central stripe.
• Three stars on the shoulder straps are a senior lieutenant, where the third star is slightly higher than the first two. Therefore, in order to determine the name of the rank to which this moment belongs to a serviceman, it is necessary to decipher the meaning of the stars on his shoulder straps. This can be done very easily, since it is enough to know the number that a particular rank has, as well as the principle of their location on the shoulder insignia. Therefore, when asked, three stars on shoulder straps - what rank, the serviceman knows for sure that this is a senior military man.
• The captain has 4 stars on his uniform. At the same time, it combines the position of the stars of all previous ranks, and the fourth is located slightly higher than the three previous ones.

Senior officers has the following hierarchy of ranks:

• Every serviceman knows by heart how many stars the first level has. The hierarchy begins with the major, who has one star on his shoulder straps and two gaps, which are represented as two parallel red stripes. The star, which is slightly larger in size than the stars in the younger composition, is located exactly between the two gaps.
• The second level is the lieutenant colonel, whose stars are located on two parallel openings, and at the same distance between themselves and from the edge of the shoulder straps.
• Colonels have 3 stars on their shoulder straps, whose first two stars on their shoulder straps are located in the same way as that of a lieutenant colonel, and the third is located slightly higher.

After a serviceman has passed all the stages in the senior officer corps, he moves to the so-called elite, that is, to the senior officer corps. On shoulder straps of this composition there are no red parallel stripes, but there is a edging of a certain color. If these are ground forces, then the edging is red.

Find out: The rank of captain of the Navy, which means the first, second and third ranks

The following hierarchy takes place here:

• The first level of the military elite is a major general, who in the naval forces corresponds to the rank of rear admiral. The soldier who bears this rank has one star, larger in size than that used in senior personnel.
• Next comes the lieutenant general with two stars, which are arranged in a row, which is the difference from the peculiarities of the arrangement in the senior officer corps. The stars line up in a row, but at a strictly defined distance in relation to each other.
• If there are 3 stars on the shoulder straps, then this is the rank of lieutenant colonel general. A serviceman who is in this rank has one more star than the previous general, which is located just above the two already on his shoulder straps.
• An army general has four stars. This rank was considered the highest in the military hierarchy for a long time. However, several decades later the rank of marshal was introduced. The army general's stars are arranged in a row and occupy most of the shoulder strap.

This article talks about how to recognize what rank officers, warrant officers and midshipmen have if they have two stars on their shoulder straps.

Ensigns on their everyday uniforms have 13 mm stars, each located vertically side by side, on khaki-colored shoulder straps with two bordering red stripes. On the field uniform, these stars are white and there are no border stripes. Midshipmen have 13 mm stars on their shoulder straps, each located vertically next to each other on gray-black shoulder straps with two white bordering stripes.

Lieutenants have shoulder straps of khaki color, with a longitudinal red stripe, with 13 mm stars located side by side horizontally at the bottom. Lieutenant colonels have khaki-colored shoulder straps, with two longitudinal red stripes, with 20 mm stars, located side by side horizontally at the bottom. Lieutenant generals have khaki-colored shoulder straps, with bordering red stripes on three sides, with 22 mm stars, each located vertically side by side.

The differences in the field uniform are that the shoulder straps do not have border stripes. Lieutenants and lieutenant colonels have white stars, while lieutenant generals have green stars.

Naval officers wear the following shoulder straps. For lieutenants, they are gray-black, with a longitudinal yellow stripe, with 13 mm stars located side by side horizontally at the bottom. Captains of the 2nd rank have shoulder straps of gray-black color, with two longitudinal yellow stripes, with 20 mm stars, located side by side horizontally at the bottom. Vice admirals have gray-black shoulder straps, with two bordering yellow stripes, with 20 mm stars located vertically next to each other, with an anchor in the center of each.

Which turned out to be more convenient and practical. Compared to the previous one, it began to look more dignified and respectable. And this is important, because good relationships between people and representatives law enforcement will depend, among other things, on the positive perception of their appearance, and not just their professional qualities.

The changes also affected police insignia, including shoulder straps. The shoulder straps now have curved stripes, but their meaning has been preserved since Soviet times.

A brief history of insignia on police uniforms

Some historians agree that until the time when armed forces operating on a regular basis were able to appear in our country, military ranks had little difference. Thus, among senior and junior ranks, differences could only be detected in the cut of the uniform and type of weapon.

Some modernization was carried out during the reign of Peter I. The officers of that time began to wear gorgets, which were scarf-type breastplates with elements of state heraldry. By the beginning of the 19th century, innovations were introduced into the Russian army in the form of uniforms, outwardly similar to the current ones (“tailcoats”).

There was an appearance of headdresses that began to emphasize the difference in military ranks. Little by little, epaulettes began to become common among military fashionistas. The officer's epaulettes were made in the same color as the uniform itself, while the general's epaulettes were distinguished by golden shades.

In the early 20s of the 19th century, the military uniform of Russian soldiers began to be distinguished by the appearance of stars. The presence of one asterisk could mean that the serviceman is a warrant officer, two - a major, three - a lieutenant colonel, four - a staff captain. But the colonel wore epaulettes that had no stars at all. Since 1840, non-commissioned officers began to have something similar to insignia. These were transverse stripes, somewhat similar to sergeant stripes from the times of the Soviet Union.

The appearance of an analogue of the first shoulder straps

Something similar to shoulder straps with stars of more or less modern designs began to appear in the Russian state from the middle of the 19th century. Some historians associate their emergence with the introduction of new models of military uniforms, and specifically with the overcoat that is now familiar to us all. Shoulder straps with sewn braid and stars were fixed in the shoulder area on the uniform. The size of all officer shoulder straps, including the highest ranks, was completely the same.

Following the revolution of 1917, stars with shoulder straps, which were perceived by the Bolsheviks as a symbol of tsarism and autocracy, were simply abolished. However, over time, the Soviet military leadership decided to return the historical insignia. Initially, this was expressed in the appearance of sleeve patches, and starting from 1943, shoulder straps.

Shoulder straps and ranks of Russian police officers

The distribution of military ranks and the use of insignia, including shoulder straps, is used not only Russian army, but also for determining special ranks by law enforcement and other structures. Due to a certain level of similarity between military and police activities, the placement of stars and other elements on police shoulder straps is similar to that typical for the Russian army.

Stars on the shoulder straps of ordinary police officers in order

On the shoulder straps of ordinary police officers there is a distinctive sign - a button, next to which there is an emblem with the inscription “police”. Police cadets have a distinctive sign with the letter “K” on their shoulder straps.

Shoulder straps and ranks of junior police officers

Shoulder straps worn by junior sergeants, sergeants and senior sergeants have rectangular stripes that are located across the shoulder straps. Two stripes indicate the rank of junior sergeant, three stripes indicate the rank of sergeant, one wide transverse stripe on the shoulder strap is worn by senior sergeants, and the same wide stripe, but located vertically, is worn by foremen.

Shoulder straps and ranks of warrant officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

The shoulder straps of each ensign are decorated with small stars located vertically. Shoulder straps with two stars are worn by warrant officers, and with three stars - by senior warrant officers.

Shoulder straps and ranks of middle management

On shoulder straps of medium composition there is a vertical red stripe, which is called a clearance, as well as small stars. Junior lieutenants wear one star located on a red stripe, police lieutenants wear two stars on their shoulder straps and a transverse stripe between them, senior lieutenants wear three stars (two are parallel, and the third is on a stripe), senior lieutenants wear four stars (two parallel). and two on the strip) - captains.

Shoulder straps and ranks of senior command personnel

The shoulder straps differ from the shoulder straps of previous employees by two gaps - stripes of red color located vertically along the entire length of the shoulder strap. There are also stars large sizes from one to three. One star in the middle inside the stripes is worn on the shoulder straps of majors. Shoulder straps with two stars located on the stripes themselves, parallel to each other, are worn by lieutenant colonels. Shoulder straps with three stars, two of which are placed parallel on the stripes, one in the middle of the stripes a little in front, are worn by colonels.

Shoulder straps and ranks of senior command staff

General's shoulder straps have large stars located vertically and have no gaps. Major generals wear one star in the middle of their shoulder straps. Lieutenant generals wear two stars, and colonel generals wear three stars. Shoulder straps with one large and three-headed Russian coat of arms are worn only by police generals of the Russian Federation, which is a great rarity in this service hierarchy.

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